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Japanese Woodblock Prints

c.4

GoBDW-RewTft PKrarv

in the Collection of
the Cooper-Hewitt
Museum

The Smithsonian
Institution's National
Museum of Design

Cover:

TotoyaHokkei (1780-1850)

Surimono: Costume for the Shibaraku Interlude

About 1850

Kakuban; 21.5 x 18.4 cm.
Purchase, Friends of the Museum
Fund, 1969-150-1

The word kabuki can be interpreted as a
drama combining words and music,
dance and movement, all skillfully ex-
ecuted. At first the plays were per-
formed for commoners, townsmen, and
merchants, for Noh plays were given
only for the nobility. Eventually the au-
dience included members of all classes
of society. Kabuki spoke a language that
could be readily understood and its sub-
ject matter was draw/4 from contempo-
rary life or famous historical events.
The costumes, gorgeous and elaborate,
the huge revolving stage, and the hana-
machi (flower walk), a platform that ex-
tended from the stage to the rear of the
auditorium, contributed to the excite-
ment and magnificence of the perfor-
mance.

One of the most highly dramatic epi-
sodes of Kabuki is the Shibaraku, which
can be translated as "Wait a Moment."
It is reminiscent of the Deus ex machina
of western theater, for at the moment
when the hero seems doomed, or evil is
about to vanquish good, an intercessor
rushes forward saying "Shibaraku" and
the action is reversed. Hokkei's compo-
sition of casually strewn parts of the
costume, still billowing slightly, sug-
gests the idea of momentary action.

The costume for Shibaraku typically is
an outer robe of exaggerated propor-
tions and long trailing trousers. The
robes shown in Hokkei's print bear
Ichikawa Danjuro V's oversized,
square-shaped crest. His family's inter-
pretation of the role was unrivalled for
generations.

1311
05C71
c.'M- '

Japanese

Woodblock

Prints

StilTHSCWV/ .

APR 41983 })
Varies

in the Collection of
the Cooper-Hewitt
Museum

The Smithsonian
Institution's National
Museum of Design

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Mandarin Ducks Walking on Ice

From a series of Birds and Flowers

About 1832-1834

Cku-tanzaku, 37.8 x 13 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-157

Snow, moon, and flowers are tradition-
ally the three friends of Japanese artists
and poets. The appropriate verse reads:

The water is the oshidori's [duck's] loving cup.
Love melts all harriers as quickly as
the thin ice thaws on the ground.

Foreword

Woodblock printing, an ancient craft,
rose to its greatest heights in Japan dur-
ing the period from the mid-
seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth cen-
turies. The color prints of this time,
made for a discerning mass public,
were highly stylized. In some respects
similar in restriction to the Japanese
seventeen-syllable haiku poems, they
show equal individuality and variety.

"Pictures of the Floating World," or
ukiyo-e prints as they are called, depict
everyday life — legends, fashions,
manners, vices — and are immensely
appealing. The Cooper-Hewitt Mu-
seum has a collection of over 500 such
prints, which charmingly capture his-
torical events, festivals, and other
commemorative occasions; courtship
and domestic life; exquisite landscapes,
flowers, birds, and insects; important
actors, warriors, wrestlers, geishas,
and courtesans — a strange, lost
world.

Van Gogh, Gauguin, Manet, Degas,
Toulouse-Lautrec and many other im-
portant Western artists were influenced
by ukiyo-e prints. In all of us, they
evoke a brilliant and delightful image
of old Japan.

Lisa Taylor

Director

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

The earliest known examples of wood-
block printing in Japan date from the
eighth century. They are relics of a
printing feat of considerable magni-
tude, for the Empress Shotoku, to
appease the rebellious Buddhist priest-
hood, ordered the printing of one
million charms, each to be placed in a
specially made, miniature, wooden
pagoda. Groups of these graceful con-
tainers with their charms were deposi-
ted in the most important temples of
the day.

When the Chinese invented paper,
shortly after 100 A.D., they immedi-
ately began to print words on it, using
stamps of the same kind as those used to
impress designs on clay wall tiles. At
this time Chinese civilization was one
or the most advanced in the world, and
certainly the dominant culture in the
far east. Japan received from China,
through Korea, the foundation of her
civilization — science, art, literature,
religion, and even a system of govern-
ment. Buddhism came to Japan in the
middle of the sixth century, and it was
in connection with Buddhism that
printing in Japan was first realized, tor
only the temples had the means to un-
dertake the time-consuming labor of
carving and printing the long Buddhist
texts.

The earliest form of printed illustration
was also connected with Buddhism.
These were the "stamped Buddha" (im-
butsu), three- or four-inch high impres-
sions on paper or cloth made with ink
and a seal or stamp, and "printed Bud-
dha" (suriiutsu), made with ink and a
carved woodblock. Their primary pur-
pose was devotional rather than artistic,
as merit was gained in the making of
them. Rows of these Buddha images
were stamped or printed in large num-
bers on sheets or rolls of paper, the
more images, the better. In general,
printed Buddhist texts were regarded as
utilitarian and illustrations were consid-
ered unnecessary. As popular sects more
concerned with reaching the people
evolved, illustrations to the texts came
to play a functional role.

Buddhist domination of printing came
to an end in the seventeenth century
when Buddhism went into decline —
its doctrine stagnant and its temples im-
poverished by the long civil wars. With
the rise of a new, highly literate class
drawn from the samurai and the court
nobility, books were produced on di-
verse secular topics such as Chinese
philosophy, military strategy and weap-
onry, botany, medicine, and agricul-
ture, as well as fiction. The main pub-
lishing centers were in the capital city
of Kyoto, Edo (now Tokyo), and

Osaka. The increased breadth of sub-
ject matter was a boon to the book illus-
trators. As the publishing industry
boomed, the market grew to include
many who could not read and who
wanted books with pictures. It was not
long before Edo artists began to aban-
don book illustration in favor of pub-
lishing albums and single-sheet prints.

The heyday of woodblock printing in
Japan occurred in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, and it flourished
most brilliantly in Edo. The prints il-
lustrated here are called ukiyo-e (float-
ing world) because they record the
ephemeral parade of lite, and in partic-
ular, its pleasures. Their point of view
has been described in a novel by Asai
Ryoi, Tales of the Floating World
(Ukiyo Monogatari): "Living only for
the moment, the snow, the cherry
blossoms and the maple leaves; singing
songs, drinking wine, diverting our-
selves in just floating, floating. . . ."

At the beginning of the eighteenth cen-
tury various economic changes implicit
in the shift from an agricultural to a
mercantile economy brought townspeo-
ple to a position of real importance.
The samurai, or warrior class, main-
tained their social standing, but the
merchants had most of the money and
most of the fun. They found their

amusement in theaters, restaurants,
wrestling matches, baths, and brothels.
They mingled freely with the inhabi-
tants of this entertaining world, who
were contained within a special area of
each large city. In Edo the district was
named Yoshiwara. The speed of pro-
duction and wide availability of the
woodblock print provided a perfect ve-
hicle to record fleeting, happy moments
and to preserve the memory of a fa-
vored person's appearance. Artists
benefited from the new patrons who
were less hampered by convention
and uninhibited by tradition. Until this
time, Japanese art had rarely escaped
from Chinese influence, chiefly because
the patrons were limited to the nobility,
a class whose foundation of learning
was Chinese. Ukiyo-e prints, however,
can be called truly native art, for their
subject matter was drawn directly from
Japanese life and their printing tech-
niques were developed in Japan.

Although the imperial capital remained
in Kyoto in the eighteenth century, the
monarchy was, in fact, powerless and
Japan was ruled by a military dictator
(shogun) who governed from Edo.
Since the nobles (daimyo) were re-
quired to spend part of every year in at-
tendance at the shogun's court, the city
was flooded with people and became the
center for a middle class of tradesmen,

artisans, merchants, writers, enter- 5

tainers, and the pleasure-loving. Nearly
all of the prints in the Cooper-Hewitt
collection are by Edo printmakers.

The evolution from a simple sumi
(lampblack) ink print to the full color
print called nishiki (literally "brocade,"
because of its many rich colors) took a
century to unwind. At first, the black
ink prints were colored by hand, most
often in orange-red and yellow (tan).
The next development was that another
variety of red was used (beni), some-
times along with a black ink mixed for
luster with lacquer or glue and embel-
lished with scattered gold dust or brass
filings. These prints were called
urushi-e. Okamura Masanobu ( 1686-
1764) is credited with introducing the
method of printing of colors with
blocks (benizuri-e), rather than apply-
ing them by hand, but with only two
colors, red and green predominating.
Finally, Suzuki Harunobu (1724-
1770) played a major role in the devel-
opment of the full color print about
1764.

The technique is demanding and re-
quires the cooperation of four people:
the designer, engraver, printer, and
publisher. First the artist draws his de-
sign with a brush and black ink on
thin, tough paper made from plant

6 fibers. The paper is glued to a block of
fine, hard wood of uniform texture.
The wood has been cut with the grain,
seasoned, and planed. The engraver,
using a panoply of chisels and blades,
excavates the unnecessary portions, leav-
ing the areas to be printed at surface
level. This completed block is the key
block. Black and white impressions
taken from it serve for the cutting of
the additional blocks, one for each
color, or shade of color. To keep the
colors in register during the printing of
the several blocks, two marks are
carved on the edge of each to guide in
maintaining exact margins. After the
blocks are inked, moistened paper is
placed on them and rubbed with a baren
made of a paper pad and coiled bamboo
cord sheathed in a bamboo leaf. Early
inks were made with vegetable and
mineral dyes, and it is the opinion of
many connoisseurs that the substitution
of aniline dyes in the later prints
contributed to the decline of the art of
woodblock printing because the colors
lack subtlety.

Surimono prints are distinctive because
of their size and shape (small, almost
square), their purpose, and their tech-
nical refinement. They were commis-
sioned by clients who wished to distrib-
ute them to friends, and were specially-
favored for new year's greetings. They

were also made to celebrate a birth or
marriage, to commemorate a new
membership in a poetry club, to give
notice of an author's or artist's change
of name, or to publish verses of poetry
club members. The prints were care-
fully designed and produced with en-
riching effects like metallic inks and
gauffrage (kimekome, "blind" printing
with an uninked block).

Hashira-e (or hashirakake), pillar
prints, are long and narrow, their
shape deriving from the wooden pillars
they were made to decorate. Ukiyo-e
artists proved themselves equal to the
challenge of designing pleasing compo-
sitions for this difficult format.

Japanese collectors of ukiyo-e have tra-
ditionally preferred the earlier —
seventeenth and eighteenth-century —
prints. A parallel in the history of west-
ern taste might be found in the rejec-
tion until recent years of the work of
mannerist artists in comparison to early
or high renaissance masters. It cannot
be denied that the enormous popular
demand for prints in nineteenth-
century Japan had an adverse effect on
some artists. For example, the later
work of Kunisada coarsened, and the
individual compositions lost focus as his
prints were churned out in too great
numbers and in too great haste. The

brilliant colors of the later prints ap-
pealed strongly to westerners, who
found them lively and gay. Japanese
connoisseurs, traditionally more conser-
vative in their personal tastes, found
the soft yellows and greens of the early
prints more desirable. Westerners, both
aided and hampered by their inability
to read the inscriptions or to understand
the frequently obtuse literary allusions
in which the cultured Japanese de-
lighted, could accept the prints solely
on the basis of their beautiful images.

The difficulties encountered in the
identification of artist and subject mat-
ter of ukiyo-e are multiple. Documents
that might establish birth and death
dates are usually lacking, and the bio-
graphies of well known artists are often
based on legends that cannot be sub-
stantiated. No single problem is more
baffling than that of Japanese artists'
names. This is partly due to the varia-
tions possible in transliteration, but also
relates to the common Japanese practice
of name changing. As Laurance
Roberts explains in his A Dictionary of
Japanese Artists, p. ix):

"As regard surnames, in old Japan the situation
was much the same as in medieval Europe: only
the highest classes or the specially privileged were
allowed the distinction. Not until 1870 were
commoners permitted to adopt family names. But
unlike the Westerner, the Japanese has always
been willing to change his name for another be-

cause, among other reasons, he has changed his
profession or has been adopted by someone else.
In the world of art, the great family names of
Kano, Tosa, Utagawa, Torii, and others were
clearly and firmly handed down, not only to the
direct heirs but also to deserving and particularly
talented pupils who were sometimes even allowed
to use the family name to show they had been ac-
cepted into the school if not always adopted into
the family itself. Very often, therefore, the artist
will have had another name than the one by
which he has come down in history. In the begin-
ning the artists were generally either members of
the aristocracy or the Buddhist priesthood and
would use either a nom de plume known as an
azana (art name) which was often no more than
an alternate reading of the artist's given name, or
a go, often in the form of an elaborate literary-
pun. While some artists were satisfied with a sin-
gle go, many felt the need for a different name
for each aspect of their work, and some found
they could use several score."

For instance, the artist we know as
Hiroshige is most often referred to as
Ando Hiroshige, Utagawa Hiroshige,
or Ichiryusai Hiroshige. Ando refers
to the Ando family by whom he was
adopted; his own father, who died when
Hiroshige was twelve, is identified by
some scholars as a member of the
Tanaka family. Utagawa refers to the
Utagawa school or fraternity of
painters, a name bestowed upon
Hiroshige when he was fifteen and had
just completed his studies with Uta-
gawa Toyohiro. In fact, the name
Hiroshige appears for the first time on
the diploma given him by Toyohiro.

Ichiryusai is one of the several go
(artist's names) which Hiroshige used
during his lifetime. Katsushika (origi-
nally Nakajima) Hokusai used over
fifty go in the course of his long life.

Because of the method of training art-
ists, there was a continuity of style from
one generation to another. A pupil ac-
cepted by one of the masters worked as
an apprentice in a trade, following the
master's instructions and turning out
pictures that resembled the master's as
closely as possible. Reverence for the
master was so deeply felt that pupils
claimed the right to sign the master's
name instead of their own if they con-
sidered themselves worthy. The greater
artists, of course, soon revealed their
own individuality even if their begin-
nings were influenced by the teacher's
style.

Among the most talented artists repre-
sented in the Cooper-Hewitt collection
is Katsukawa Shunsho, who exerted
wide influence as a teacher. His many
actor prints were admired because of
his ability to capture individual per-
sonal characteristics while at the same
time creating finely balanced abstract
compositions. The forms of the figures
and the stage properties play against
each other to build tension that antici-
pates dramatic action.

Katsushika Hokusai was one of
Shunsho's many pupils. His work has
survived the test of time and seems vi-
tal and inventive today. Restless, almost
bohemian in his habits, he constantly
changed his residence as well as his
name. His best known and most mas-
terful prints are the views of Mt. Fuji,
a series begun when he was seventy
years old. The great landscapes are con-
sidered to be the pinnacle of his career,
and Hokusai in his journal, said of this
period of his life: "I finally appre-
hended something of the true quality of
birds, animals, insects, fish and of the
vital nature of grasses and trees." In
large part his appeal for us is in his
imagination and humor.

The second great ukiyo-e landscapist
was Ando Hiroshige who was born
nearly forty years after Hokusai. Their
prints vary markedly in mood and exe-
cution — Hokusai's are explosive, full
of energy, and basically linear;
Hiroshige's quiet and poetic, conceived
in large planes of flat color. Hiroshige
exhibited his artistic inclinations as an
adolescent and began to concentrate on
landscapes when he was about thirty
years old. His enormous production of
prints shows great technical virtuosity
and his delightful scenes were more re-
sponsible than those of any other artist
for the westerner's view of Japan. The

universal favorite is his series devoted
to the Tokaido road, printed in the
1830s. these were produced from
drawings Hiroshige made in the course
of his own journey down the road in
the procession of the shogun. He spent
much of his life traveling around
Japan, and many other landscape prints
resulted, along with charming prints ot
birds and flowers, and fish.

Totoya Hokkei was one of Katsushika
Hokusai's most faithful pupils. His
production of single sheet woodcuts was
limited but he illustrated some forty
books and his many illustrations for sa-
tirical poems and surimono reveal an
able draftsman.

Utagawa Toyokuni and his numerous
pupils dominated the ukiyo-e scene well
past the mid-nineteenth century. Born
the son of a woodcarver, print design-
ing was a natural step for Toyokuni.
His work is divided almost equally be-
tween depictions of beautiful women
and portraits of actors. Several of his
pupils are represented in the Cooper-
Hewitt collections, among them Uta-
gawa Kuninaga, a book illustrator and
lantern painter as well as a print maker,
who was strongly influenced by western
art, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, an erratic
artist with a taste for fantasy. Another
was Utagawa Kunisada, a prolific artist

who produced well over 10,000 prints
during his active sixty-year career. He
also illustrated dozens of novels, in-
cluding Ryutei Tanehiko's most fa-
mous work, Nise Murasaki Inaka
Genji (The Pseudo-Murasaki's Coun-
try Genji). 160 volumes, 1829-1842.

Kunisada's work, particularly the actor
prints that were his specialty, was ex-
tremely popular with the mass audi-
ence. His pupil and son-in-law,
Ichiunsai Kunihisa, was also his collab-
orator, usually in providing the land-
scape backgrounds for Kunisada's fig-
ures. The production of all of these
Edo artists was prodigious and each had
pupils, many of whom designed thou-
sands of prints as well.

With the twentieth century, the influ-
ences from the west became more ap-
parent. Kawase Hasui carried on the
traditional methods of Japanese crafts-
manship in printing and choice of
native landscape subjects, but his juxta-
posing of colors and the atmospheric
effects achieved by means of uneven
inking of the blocks indicate his famil-
iarity with French impressionism.

Among the Japanese, art has existed not
as a luxury but as an inseparable part of
daily living. Japanese woodblock prints
were made for an energetic, literate,

and witty society. Restricted by law
from ostentatious display in their mate-
rial possessions and even in their cloth-
ing, the Japanese found in the enter-
tainment of restaurants, the theater, the
courtesans, and literature a relief from
this mild oppression. The warm colors
and graceful rhythms of the ukiyo-e
prints that recorded their frivolities and
their beautiful landscapes were the
means of extending their pleasures. Be-
cause of the artist's skill in his craft,
those pleasures are also extended to us.

Elaine Evans Dee

Katsukawa Shunsho

(1726-1792)

The Actor Iwai Hanshiro IV in a
Female Role, Holding a Parasol

About 1780

Hosoban, 32.5 x 14.2 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-152

Shunsho revived the art of theatrical
prints and actor portraits at a moment
when prints of fashionably dressed
women had all but captured popular
taste in Edo. His close-up views of in-
dividualized figures and decorative fab-
ric patterns served as important exam-
ples for later artists, including his pupil
Hokusai. In Japanese theater, as in
Shakespeare's day, there were no ac-
tresses; only men were cast in Kabuki
roles. Hanshiro's delicate facial features
and elaborate hair styling have been ex-
aggerated in the aim of femininity, and
only the fabric covering the forehead
identifies this figure as a male imper-
sonating a female.

Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825)

The Actors Sawamura Geno-
suke (in the role of Abe no
Yasuna) and Segawa Roko (in
the role of Kuza no Ha)

About 1790

Hosoban, 32.2 x 14.7 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-138

By isolating the actors from any back-
ground, Toyokuni emphasized person-
ality in his prints rather than theatrical
roles. In early prints, he often com-
bined delicate facial features with
broadly outlined bodies and costumes.
Toward the turn of the century, his
figure style became less and less refined.
The willowy profile of the standing ac-
tor in this print is typical of Toyokuni's
early works, as are the lines defining
the seated figure's lap. The toppled
mirror stand, probably overturned dur-
ing a fit of passion, shows the same ex-
aggerated attenuation as the figures.

Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825)

The Actor Hagino Isaburo as a
Samurai Drawing his Sword

About 1815; publisher, Matsuasu
Hosoban, 31.5 x 14.3 cm.
Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.
Patterson, 1941-31-142

The object of Hagino Isaburo's cross-
eyed glare lies somewhere outside the
confines of the print. With one hand on
the hilt of his sword, the other on the
handle, and elbow poised, the figure
conveys all the combative energy ap-
propriate to a samurai. The bright
stripes and stylized angularity of his
robes contribute to the drama of the
composition.

; k

-V--

Mataunami Shigeoki, after
Tatsukata Matsuoka

Instructions for Wearing the
Twelve Layers of Imperial Court
Costume (Juni tan chakuyo zu)

1801

33.8 x 50.8 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-58

According to the inscription on the
print, Shigeoki was the apprentice of
Tatsukata Matsuoka who worked on the
island of Kyshu.

The full dress (mononogu) worn on for-
mal occasions by the empress and court
ladies of higher ranks consisted of
twelve individual items. First came the
chemise of white silk, which was short
and tucked in at the waist. Over this
were four robes identical in shape, each
showing at the collar, hems, and sleeves
a glimpse of the one next below it.
These garments were of rich silk, their
colors and patterns being subject to reg-
ulation that changed from time to
time. Under these robes the lady wore
a pair of voluminous "trousers" of stiff
silk that more than covered her feet,
on which she wore socks. Last came the
wide-pleated train (mo) of thin, white,

embroidered silk, here showing the im-
perial design of phoenix birds and
paulownia trees. Three pairs of stream-
ers trailed freely at either side of the
train.

The coiffure to be worn with this cos-
tume was also prescribed. It was parted
in the middle and combed back into a
long tail of seven feet or so, assisted by
the addition of false hair, tied with silk,
and at intervals bound with white paper
cord. The gilt metal disk in her hair,
shown here, was worn on special occa-
sions.

The face and neck were painted white,
and eyebrows painted high on the fore-
head replaced the shaved natural ones.
A ceremonial fan decorated with rib-
bons and plum blossoms, or as in this
print, pine sprays, completed the cos-
tume.

Utagawa Kuninaga (active by
1806-1 829)

Beauties Impersonating the Eight
Sennin

1818

Oban triptych, 37.4 x 75 cm.
Purchase in memory of Mrs. Charles
B. Alexander, 1963-12-1

Sennin are immortals who have gained
magical powers through asceticism and
the teachings of Taoism. The sennin en-
countered so often in Chinese and Japa-
nese lore are usually pictured as wi-
zened old men with large ears, scanty
clothing, and long beards. Kuninaga's
triptych, however, illustrates eight of
the sennins attributes, and here the
Taoist ascetics appear in the guise of
eight fashionable Edo beauties. In the
left panel, Chokwaro releases a magic
horse from a gourd; Oshikyo rides a
white crane. The center panel depicts
Kinko riding her carp-steed, Chinnan

conjuring a dragon, and Tekkai breath-
ing forth a reproduction of herself The
right panel depicts Koreijin with a ti-
ger, Chokiuka transforming cuttings
from her robes into butterflies, and
Gama playing with her toad.

Ryuryukyo Shinsai (1764?- 1820)

Surimono.
Clock

Painted Scroll and

About 1800

Kakuban, 20.5 x 18.3 cm.

Gift of Mrs. William Greenough,

1941-49-53

This print is a particularly appropriate
new year's greeting, with its clock and
picture of the treasure ship which was
the vehicle for the seven gods of good
fortune: Hotei (contentment), Fukuro-
kuju and Jurojin (longevity), Bishamon
and Daikoku (riches), Benten (beauty
and music), and Ebisu (daily food).

Teisai Hokuba (1771-1844)

Surimono: Scene from a Noh
Drama

About 1830

Kakuban, 20.6 x 18.3 cm.

Gift of Mrs. William Greenough,

1941-49-55

The scene showing a man holding out
his string of Buddhist rosary beads be-
fore a masked demon who towers over
him is doubtless drawn from a Noh
drama. Noh is the classic, lyric, court
drama of Japan, blending dance, pan-
tomine, and music with moral instruc-
tion. The formula is rigid, the action
symbolic and slow, and the language
obscure and understated.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Kajikazawa in Kai Province

(Koshu Kajikazawa)

From the series, Thirty-six Views of
Mt. Fuji (Fugaku Sanjiiroku Kei)
1823-31; publisher, Eijudo
Oban, 26 x 37.8 cm.
Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.
Patterson, 1941-31-117

The pure symmetry of Mt. Fuji's cone
is a symbol of Japan's scenic beauty as
well as of the spiritual significance of
nature in a land so dominated by its to-
pography. Here a lone fisherman and
his young assistant are perched on a
promontory overhanging pounding
surf. The foamy crests recall Hokusai's
most famous print, "The Great Wave
off Kanagawa." By means of a single
line, Hokusai suggests the serenity of
Mt. Fuji rising above dense fog to pre-
side over the landscape. The careful
foreground arrangement of the jutting

crag, the stooping fisherman, and the
extended lines of his net complete a tri-
angle that repeats Fuji's symmetry, a
compositional device that Hokusai fre-
quently exploited in the other prints in
this series.

The subdued tones of blue and green
are also characteristic of Hokusai's
work. His use of such broad areas of a
single color was daring and, in the
hands of a skillful printer, it allowed
subtle gradations of tone that remain
powerfully evocative.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

"Fuji-view" Fields (Bishu Fujimi-
gahara) in Owari Province

From the series, Thirty-six Views of
Mt. Fuji (Fugaku Sanjuroku Kei)
1823-1831; publisher, Eijudo
Oban, 25 x 37. 1 cm.
Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.
Patterson, 1941-31-113

The province of Owari is considerably
west of Edo, yet the silhouette of Mt.
Fuji is still visible on the horizon in
Hokusai's famous view. An aging
cooper with a caulking brush kneels in-
side the huge tub which frames him
and the diminished peak in the dis-
tance. Hokusai worked for many years
as a book illustrator and published sev-
eral manuals of drawing techniques.

He was a master of depicting the hu-
man figure. The few lines that define
the old man's bony limbs and whimsical
facial expression are typical of
Hokusai's angular style of drawing.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Scene from the Chushingura
(The Loyal League of Forty-
seven Ronin)

About 1800

Aiban, 34.3 x 22.6 cm

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-111

The most popular Kabuki drama,
Chushingura, celebrates all the qualities
of unquestioning loyalty, devotion to a
superior, and courtly etiquette that are
intensely Japanese. The eleven-act play,
based on an actual event that occurred
in 1701, presents the tale of Hangan
(sometimes called Yenya), a nobleman
who draws his sword against another
nobleman, Moronao, after enduring
his ceaseless insults. The act violated
the laws of the court, and thus Hangan
was condemned to commit seppuku, the
nobility's ritual of suicide. His re-
tainers became ronin, or men without a
leader, and the forty-seven who re-
mained loyal formed a league under
Oboshi Yuranosuke, Hangan's devoted
chief retainer, to seek revenge on the
wicked Moronao. Having avenged the
death of their lord, the forty-seven
ronin committed seppuku and were bur-
ied together.

In this night scene by Hokusai,
Yuranosuke has disguised himself as a
drunk asleep in the road with straw
hat tossed aside, geta (wooden sandals)
untied, and over-turned sake pot
nearby. An unwitting samurai assaults
the hero for his disgraceful appear-
ance.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Act II from the series,
Chushingura (The Loyal League
of Forty-Seven Ronin)

1836; publisher, Senichi

Oban, 24 x 36.4 cm.

Purchase, in memory of Herman A.

Elsberg, 1962-197-1

In Hiroshige 's series of sixteen prints
showing scenes from the Chushingura,
each composition is enclosed in a
fretwork border that incorporates the
double tomoe crest (intersecting comma
shapes) of Oishi Kuranosoke, the actual
hero of the historical events. His name
is thinly disguised in the play as Oboshi
Yuranosuke.

The scene in Act II takes place in the
residence of the nobleman Wakasa, a
friend of Hangan's and enemy of
Moronao. A pair of lovers who figure
in the story is in the foreground, ob-
served by the girl's mother hiding be-
hind a screen. The bamboo design of

the screen bears the signature of Mo-
to-oka, one of the names of the artist
Okajima Rinsai who was believed to
have been Hiroshige's first teacher.

On a veranda across the garden,
Wakasa's attendant, Honzo, has just cut
off a pine branch with his master's
sword. By sheathing it without first
wiping clean the thick, sticky pine
pitch, Honzo hopes to prevent Wakasa
from emulating Hangan's fatal mistake
of drawing his sword against the vil-
lainous Moronao.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Hakone, The Lake (Hakone kosui)

No. 11 from the series,

Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido

(Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi)

[834; publisher, Hoeid5

Oban, 22.8 x 35.3 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-11

Mt. Fuji is only one example of Japan's
varied volcanic scenery. The region of
Hakone is famous for rugged, volcanic
terrain which is very different from the
gradual slope of Mt. Fuji, visible from
the lake. In Hiroshige's view, a
daimyo's (noble's) procession with men
carrying litters and banners winds its
way through a narrow gorge beneath
steep-faced peaks. Soil and vegetation
appear as boldly colored patchwork
above the travelers. Below, Lake
Hakone extends past a small village to
the foot of a distant mountain range.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Yellow Dusk at Numazu

(Numazu kikure)

No. 13 from the series,

Fiftv-three Stations of the Tokaido

(Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi)

1 833-4; publisher, Hoeido

Oban, 22.3 x }5 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-13

Following a narrow, riverside path,
three travelers approach the village of
Numazu by the light of the full moon.
Its pale glow silhouettes the roadside
trees but barely penetrates the forest on
the opposite bank. The large mask
that the man carries on his back
identifies the group as pilgrims to the
Shinto shrine of Kompira on the island
of Shinkoku.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Kambara, Night Snow (Kambara,
yoru no yuki)

No. 16 from the series,

Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido

(Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi)

1834; publisher, Takenouchi-Hoeido

Oban, 22.7 x 35.4 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-16

The night view of Kambara under
heavy snow is one of the most famous
prints of the Tokaido series. Three
peasants trudge on undeterred by the
snow-covered surface of the highway.
One figure in geta (wooden sandals)
covers his head with a half-closed um-
brella. The configuration of village
rooftops subtly complements the shape
of the distant mountains and closely re-
sembles Hiroshige's rhythmic treatment
of rooflines in other views from this
series.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Utsu Mountain, Okabe (Okabe,
Utsu noyama)

No. 22 from the series,
Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido
(Tokaido Gojilsan Tsugi)

1833-4; publisher, Hoeido

Oban, 23.6 x 36.4 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-22

The stone embankment of a mountain
stream provides a road for travelers as-
cending from both sides of this moun-
tain pass. The walls of the gorge sup-
port a few gnarled trees which catch the
sunlight from the overlook. Dark flecks
on the mountains beyond the roofs of
the village of Okabe suggest the same
meager forestation. The subtle grada-
tions of green, blue, and gray are cru-
cial in this print, for they alone create
depth and texture in the landscape.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Ghiryu, The Great Summer
Horse Fair (Chiryu, shuka
uma-ichi)

No. 40 from the series,

Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido

(Tokaido Gojiisan Tsugi)

1833-4; publisher, Hoeido

Oban, 22.9 x 35. 1 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-40

Grazing in a field of tall grass, groups
of tethered horses await the arrival of
the buyers who gather under a lone, tall
tree.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Shono, White Rain {Shono,
haku-u)

No. 46 from the series,

Fifty-three Stations of the TokaidS

(Tokaido Gojiisan Tsugi)

1833-4; publisher, Hoeido

Oban, 22.5 x 34.7 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-46

Hiroshige's image of driving sheets of
rain, branches bowing in a gale, and
travelers running for cover is one of
the most famous of all Japanese prints.
Climbing a road past the village, por-
ters transporting a passenger by kago
(an open-sided sedan chair) pass two
figures who dash headlong into the
wind and rain. One grips the brim of
his straw hat; the other proceeds blindly
behind the cover of his umbrella. The
randomly intersecting lines of rain and
the separately printed grey bands of fo-
liage enhance our sensation of the squall
and demonstrate Hiroshige's complete
mastery of the woodblock medium.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Sakanoshita, Fudesute Mountain
{Sakanoshita, Fudesute mine)

No. 49 from the series,
Fifty-three Stations of the Tbkaido
( Tokaido Gojiisan Tsugi)

1833-4; publisher, Hoeido

Oban, 23.9 x 36.7 cm.

Gift of Mary Rutherford Jay,

1948-134-49

At the right, a group of guests rests in
a rude shelter after a mountain ascent.
One, with brush and paper in hand, in-
spired by the view of the mountain
across the chasm, is apparently writing
a poem which will, no doubt, be hung
from the roof beams in company with
the literary efforts of previous trav-
elers.

Hiroshige's genius as a draftsman is ev-
ident in the way the facial expression of
the man at the edge of the precipice,

gazing in awe at the landscape, is cap-
tured in the most summary and eco-
nomical terms. The artist's knowledge
of Chinese painting is revealed through
his rendering of the rocky crags across
the chasm.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

The Suido Bridge and
Suruga Plain (Suidobashi,
Surugadai)

From the series, One Hundred Views of

Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

1857; publisher, Uoei

Oban, 33.8 x 22.2 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-297

In this bird's-eye view of the Suruga
plain, huge paper kites hang from
poles, like wind socks, and numerous
banners appear among the rooftops in
the distance. During Boys' Festival
(May 5), it is appropriate that carp
dominate the skyline, for they symbol-
ize perseverance to the Japanese.
Hiroshige repeatedly organized his up-
right compositions around some strik-
ing foreground element, and the carp
follows this formula. It creates depth
through the use of flat elements, simul-
taneously drawing the viewer into the
print and stressing the bold surface pat-
tern traditionally associated with Japa-
nese woodblock prints.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Ferry at Kawaguchi and the
Zenkoji Temple (Kawaguchi no
watashi to Zenkoji)

From the series, One Hundred Views of

Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

1857; publisher, Uoei

Oban, 33.9 x 22.5 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-275

As the ferry-boat full of passengers
crosses a stream, lumber rafts pass,
propelled by punters in straw hats. The
Zenkoji Temple appears on the oppo-
site shore, partially obscured by a dense
grove of trees.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

The Eko-in Temple and the
Moto-yanagi Bridge, Ryogoku

(Ryogoku Eko-in, Moto-yanagibashi)

From the series, One Hundred Views of

Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

1_857; publisher, Uoei

Oban, 34 x 22.3 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-287

The flags that hang from the tall,
wooden scaffolding indicate that a wres-
tling match is underway. Beyond lies
the Sumida River with junks and
barges passing, and beyond them is the
Moto-yanagi Bridge. Snow covers the
distant Mt. Fuji. As in other examples
from the same series, a vertical element
dominates the foreground of this print.
Compositional effect was clearly more
important to the artist than factual doc-
umentation, for the posts of the tower
rise somewhat awkwardly out of the
rooftops below them.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

The Gateway to the Kinryuzan
Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa,
Kinryuzan)

From the series, One Hundred Views of

Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

1856; publisher, Uoei

Oban, 34 x 22.5 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-291

Snow and moonlight scenes have always
been among the most sought-after
prints by Hiroshige, and this well
known view of the Asakusa Temple is
frequently displayed and reproduced.
By partially framing the temple within
a doorway and including a large paper
lantern in the upper third of the print,
Hiroshige defies the boundary be-
tween the viewer's space and the picture
space. The low vantage point places us
in the courtyard among the people who
approach the temple through the snow.

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Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

The Great Wave at Satta Beach,
Suruga

From the series, The Thirty-Six Views

of Fuji (Fuji Sanjuroku Kei)

1858; publisher, Tsutaya Kichizo

Oban, 33.6 x 22.2 cm.

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.

Patterson, 1941-31-120

Hiroshige's print of a "great wave" au-
tomatically recalls Hokusai's monumen-
tal depiction of the same subject
published almost thirty years before. In
contrast to Hokusai's version, in which
a wall of water towers above man and
mountain, Hiroshige's boats sail on
peaceful waters, safe from the crest of
the wave in the foreground, which only
appears to crash down upon them.
Here Fuji and the nearby cliffs equal the
wave in height. The impact of the print
relies on the sweeping curl of the wave
that stretches from margin to margin
and the agitated tops of the swells in the
foreground.

Keisai Eisen (1790-1848)
Mariko

From the series, Courtesans and Post-
ing Stations (Keisei dochu sugoruku)
About 1830; publisher, Tsutaya
Kichizo

Oban, 35.4 x 24.3 cm.
Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Robert H.
Patterson, 1941-31-148

Although Eisen collaborated with
Hiroshige on the series "Sixty-nine
Stations of the Kiso Highway," he is
probably better known for his prints of
beautiful women. In this series he has
accomplished a combination of the two
genres. The view in the cartouche at
the left is of Mariko, one of the fifty-
three stations on the TSkaido road,
and a graceful courtesan in her many-
patterned costume and elaborate hair
ornaments dominates the composition.

From the seventeenth century on,
brothels in Japan were strictly con-
trolled by the government. In Edo, as
in other towns, the pleasure quarters
were a conspicuous feature of city life
and courtesans (as well as their patrons)
supplied ready-made subjects for prints
that were in great demand. There was a
strict hierarchy among the courtesans
and only a few achieved "highest rank-
ing." The geishas, ranked lower than
courtesans, were skilled in music and
dancing, but beauty of appearance was
a prime requisite for both.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864)

The Actor Matsumoto Koshiro
Leaping through a Wall

About 1840

Oban, 38.8 x26.5 cm.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maxime

Hermanos, 1966-7-30

The Kabuki theater took definite shape
during the brilliant flowering of culture
and civilization under Tokugawa rule.
Printmakers were directly affected by
the demand for advertisements, por-
traits of actors, and scenes from popu-
lar plays. The collecting of actors' por-
traits became the rage.

Until the nineteenth century, when they
became more versatile, actors were
confined to a single kind of role — vil-
lain, hero, or female. Actors trained
their own children in their own roles,
or adopted boys in order to carry on the
name, a practice still followed in Japan
today. Matsumoto Koshiro VII, one of
whose predecessors is portrayed here,
and who was considered one of the
greatest Kabuki actors, died only
twenty years ago.

Since Kunisada sometimes signed him-
self as Toyokuni (two other artists used
this name), definite attribution often
becomes difficult, and one must rely ex-
clusively on stylistic evidence. In this
example with a Toyokuni signature, the
hasty conception of rocks and foliage,
along with the convention of curving
and oddly jointed fingers and toes,
strongly suggest that Kunisada was the
artist.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864)

Hanashigomano Chokichi
Drawing his Sword

About 1850; publisher, Tsutaya

Kichizo

Oban, 36.2 x 25.2 cm.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William

Franklin Mitchell, 1955-111-86

The influence of the theater on Japanese
life was pervasive. Not only did the
plots and language of the plavs affect
behavior and speech, but fabric design
and hair styles of favorite actors were
emulated. The boldly striped or
checked fabrics such as this actor wears
are now called genroku after the
Genroku period (1688-1704) when
these patterns became most popular.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864)

Man Grossing a Bridge in the
Snow

1854

Oban, 35.9 x 25.9 cm. (part of a trip-
tych)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William
Franklin Mitchell, 1955-111-85

Although Kunisada's print reveals some
awkward handling of the spatial rela-
tionships between the figure and the ar-
chitectural elements of the background,
and a decidedly lumpy rendering of the
falling snow flakes, the figure itself
shows the sophistication and attention to
detail of which the artist was capable.

The subject wears a lined kimono
against the rigors of the weather, over
which for further warmth he wears a
haori, a short coat open at the front and
loosely fastened across the chest with
silk cords. As is traditional, his haori is
of striped fabric, and is decorated with
family crests. The geta (wooden san-
dals) he wears are raised high enough
from the ground to protect his feet and
the hem of his kimono from the snow.
Until the end of the eighteenth century,
only men carried umbrellas in Japan.

Utagawa Kunisada ( 1786-1864)

The Sumo Wrestler, Koyanagi
Tsunekichi

About 1840; publisher, Joshuya
Oban, 37 .5 x 25.5 cm.
Transfer from the Cooper-Hewitt
Library, 1957-148-65

To the Japanese, wrestling (sumo) is not
a mere feat of strength. It has always
been regarded as an effective medium
for spiritual as well as physical develop-
ment of young men. The wrestling
match itself progresses through a
series of rituals performed by the two
contestants. The technique of throwing
an opponent in the ring or ejecting him
from it is complicated, but the two
hundred or more hand motions em-
ployed by the wrestler are based on
three fundamental methods — thrust-
ing (with the palms), pushing (with the
fingers), and clinching and grappling.

The wrestler in Kumsada's print is
shown standing in a square ring of hard
clay bounded with bales of straw. His
long topknot indicates that he is a wres-
tler of first rank. The floor of the ring
appears to be dotted with the salt, sym-
bolic of purity, which is thrown into
the ring by the wrestlers before the
match. Koyanagi Tsunekichi, however,
is wearing his ceremonial, decorated
loin cloth, thus it does not appear that
he is about to engage in a contest but,
rather, has posed for his portrait in
suitable attire.

Kunisada has magnified the figure's
bulk by nearly filling the page with it,
stressing the lighter areas of the upper
torso, and emphasizing the broad, hori-
zontal stripes of the loin cloth.

Ichiunsai Kunihisa ( 1832-1891)

Two Actors, Ichikawa Kichi-
yoshi and Bando Hikosaburo,
under a Waterfall

1862; publishers, Santsu Itosho and
Fukabori Iccho
Oban, 36.2 x 25.2 cm.
Purchase in memory of Edward
Ringwood Hewitt, Edith Wetmore,
and others, 1968-96-1

It seems there was no limit to the in-
vention of stage effects, including wa-
terfalls, in Kabuki theater. At a time
when Shakespearean plays were being
performed in comparatively simple
theaters, the Japanese had revolving
stages, trap door devices for precipitous
exits and entrances, and elaborate light-
ing, all within a highly ritualized set-
ting.

In the tradition of Hokusai and Eisen
before him, Kunihisa has ably solved
the difficult problem of representing a
volume of water within a rigid two-
dimensional format, and with a limited
range of colors.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)

Zaimoku-jima at Matshushima

1933; publisher, Watanabe

Oban, 39.3 x 26.5 cm.

Gift of Asaka Matsuoka, 1960-68-3

The traditional methods of woodblock
printing have persisted into the twenti-
eth century. Hasui's treatment of water
demonstrates a technical facility that be-
lies the laborious process of multiple
printing and registration. (This print
required twenty-five superimposed
printings from twenty blocks.) Mat-
sushima Bay, long famous as one of
Japan's "Three Great Sights," is dotted
with volcanic islands shaped by erod-
ing wind and water. An earlier guide-
book aptly describes the view as if the
author were looking at Hasui's print:

"On a perfect day in June, when white-sailed
junks drift lazily over the translucent water and
blend their ghostly shadows in the depths with
those of the billowy galleons that ride majestically
across the airy sea above, the bay seems touched
by the magic hand of some transcendent genius,
and its beauty is one that lingers long in the
mind." {Terry's Guide to the Japanese Empire,
Boston and New York, 1920, p. 312.)

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Saishoin Temple at Hirosaki

About 1920

Oban, 39.3 x 26.4 cm.

Gift of Asaka Matsuoka,

1960-68-2

Hirosaki is in the northernmost prov-
ince of Japan, thus it is not surprising
that this modern landscape print ex-
presses the ever-popular Japanese theme
of snow. A lone figure under an um-
brella passes before the temple as sun-
light penetrates the snow just enough to
tint the branches of the tall trees.

Hasui often uses various textures and
densities of ink, some quite transparent
and others opaque, and here the tech-
nique skillfully suggests intermittent
sunlight, seen through the lightly tail-
ing snow, and the blue shadows that
cover the ground.

?6 Brief Bibliography

Binyon, Laurence. A Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Woodcuts . . . in the British Museum.
London, 1916.

and Sexton, J.J. O'Brien. Japanese Colour Prints. London, 1923. Reprint; 1960.

Bowers, Faubion. Japanese Theater. New York, 1952. Reprint; Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo
(paperback), 1974.

Hillier, Jack. Hokusai: Paintings, Drawings, and Woodcuts. London, 1955.

. The Japanese Print: A New Approach. Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo, 1960.

. Japanese Prints and Drawings from the Vever Collection. 3 vols. New York, 1976.

Keyes, Roger S., and Mizushima, Keiko. The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints: A Collection of
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Japanese Woodblock Prints in the Philadelphia Mu-
suemofArt. Boston, 1973.

Koop, Albert J. Victoria and Albert Museum: Guide to the Japanese Textiles: Part II — Costume.
London, 1920.

Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print. New York, 1978.

Narazaki, Muneshige. The Japanese Print: Its Evolution and Essence. Tokyo and Palo Alto,
Calif., 1966.

Roberts, Laurance P. A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. New York, 1977.

Sansom, George B. Japan: A Short Cultural History. London, 1931. Rev. ed., 1943; 2d rev.
ed., 1962.

Statler, Oliver. Japanese Inn. New York, 1961.

Stern, Harold P. Master Prints of Japan. New York, 1969.

Stewart, Basil. Subjects Portrayed in Japanese Colour-Prints. New York, 1922.

Strange, Edward F. The Colour-Prints of Hiroshige. London, New York, Toronto, and Mel-
bourne, 1925. Reprint; Geneva, 1973.

Tamba, Tsuneo. The Art of Hiroshige. Tokyo, 1965.

The University of Michigan Museum of Art. Japanese Prints: Traditions in Costume. Exhibi-
tion catalogue. Ann Arbor, 1967.

Ukiyo-e Society of America, Inc., and Pratt Graphic Arts Center. Life and Customs of Edo.
Exhibition catalogue. New York, 1978.

Yale University. The Edo Culture in Japanese Prints. Exhibition catalogue. New Haven,
1972.

— — —

Japanese prints are usually classified according to shape and size.

Type of print Approximate size ( in centimeters )

Oban 39.3x25.3

Aigan 33.3 x 22.7

Chuban 29.3 x 19

Hosoban 30.3 x 15

Koban 21.2 x 15.1

Hashiraban 66.7x21.2

Chu-tanzaku 38 x 13

Hashira-e 73 x 12

Surimono sizes:

Kakuban 20.5 x 18.3

Nagaban 15-20 x 10-15

All of the prints illustrated are nishiki-e (full color prints).

Spellings and dates follow the system in Laurance P. Roberts, A Dictionary of Japanese Artists (New York, 1977)

Catalogue by Elaine Evans Dee and Thomas Michie
Translations by Sue Kim
Photographs by Scott Hyde
Design by Heidi Humphrey

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